BookBabble #59: "The 5 AM Club" by Robin Sharma

Own your morning, elevate your life…

Here we have an interesting book on productivity and living a great life. It should be fairly obvious the angle we're going at from the title, although it does delve a little deeper than that.

I was aware of this book for a while but didn't bother with it as I thought it might be a little obvious – ie. get up early. That is of course the main angle but there is more to it.

Sharma is the author of a few books and has put a lot of his wisdom and ideas into this offering, so don't be fooled by the apparent simplicity of this message.

Now, whether you like Sharma and the way he talks, writes and shares is another matter. Overall I do and I think he has plenty to offer, but some may find his writing a little contrived and heavy on cliché and metaphor (there are some odd examples of similes he's used which almost feels like he's swallowed a thesaurus and needs to puke it all out).

The book is in the form a story, as opposed to just a straight up personal development ra-ra book. That was a pleasant surprise as it helps to cement ideas without it being straight out blurting facts and 'motivation'. The story itself is ok but I do appreciate the delivery style, as it doesn't have to be the finest narrative known to man, but be able to get it across in a simple, fun and interesting way.

So much in the style of The Go Giver, or perhaps The Alchemist or The Richest Man in Babylon, we get taken on a journey with our protagonists and the people they meet along the way to instil this - and other - cornerstone habits…

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Some great quotes from the book followed by my thoughts…

I need to tell you that too many among us die at thirty and are buried at eighty

It is apparent that many people give up (at least to a degree) when they are still quite young and have plenty to come. Then they have a good half century of not all that much… so it's worth living the best life you can right up until it's your time to go.

The truth is that every challenging event you’ve experienced, each toxic person that you’ve encountered and all the trials you’ve endured have been perfect preparation to make you into the person that you now are.

They all contribute. Even though a lot of stuff isn't pleasant at the time, there may be something deeper and a seed of some greater outcome down the line.

“Ideas are worth nothing unless backed by application. The smallest of implementations is always worth more than the grandest of intentions.

It's the old action over theory or simply talking about it. Plenty of people can talk a good game and can theorise well, but not so many actually go out and get it done.

Picasso said you should learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist.

You need to know the rules of the game first. Know what you're dealing with and do it well… then you can alter things based on that experience to how it might work better for you. Rules can (and often should) be broken but you need to know what they are and work well with them first.

Spartan warrior credo that says, ‘one who sweats more in training bleeds less in war.’

Preparation is key. The more you do preparing for a given situation, the easier and more instinctive it becomes. There is such a thing as over-planning but that's not what we're talking about here. This is making sure we are more than ready to take the challenge.

‘high victory is made in those early morning hours when no one’s watching and while everyone else is sleeping.’

It's getting ahead of the game, and ahead of your competition. Before anyone is up and whilst everyone is struggling downing their first coffee, you've been smashing it for several hours and are set up well for the rest of the day.

Take excellent care of the front end of your day, and the rest of your day will pretty much take care of itself. Own your morning. Elevate your life.

It sets the tone, and if there rest of your day doesn't pan out so well, then you've still got that under your belt. And it gives you the best chance of the momentum carrying through.

gargantuan results are much less about your inherited genetics and far more about your daily habits.

As ever, it all comes down to habits. This is so often discussed and rightly so. What you do regularly and automatically is what is going to become your life over time.

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The first fifty years of our lives are a lot about seeking legitimacy, The last fifty years then become less about me and more about we.

To start it's all about learning, experimenting, exploring, finding our place etc. Then when that's a bit more set, we can share what we've learned and not be so concerned about how we look or chasing success.

“All change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end.”

There's a bit of a process to it. Anything new is hard before momentum and confidence kick in. In the end something amazing can occur, but you need to be still there to see those fruits!

“Commitment, discipline, patience and work.

4 pillars right there for getting things done.

“Victims love entertainment. Victors adore education.”

The masses love to be entertained and not to think or do too much. Those aiming a little higher will use that time to help advance themselves and the world.

Voluntary discomfort

This is where you voluntarily put yourself in uncomfortable situations. It's a Stoic idea where you actually choose to not live as well. That could be sleeping in a rough environment or not eating as a means of experiencing those things to remain humble as well as prove you can live like that if necessary, even though you have the means to live better. It hardens you up and gives a sense of confidence as well as empathy.

“A child has no trouble believing the unbelievable, nor does the genius or the madman. It’s only you and I, with our big brains and our tiny hearts, who doubt and overthink and hesitate.” — Steven Pressfield

It's quite the quandary! Your average person who isn't a genius, madman or child struggles to really believe as we're held back by 'evidence' and perception. Therefore the majority are held back… by themselves.

The flow of life rewards positive action and punishes hesitation

He who hesitates, mastur… well, doesn't get what he wants. Action, certainty, definiteness and forward motion means something will happen, and often that is what you want or at least further forward. Waiting around means that nothing gets set in motion and can have an adverse and habitual effect.

Pure leaders are so secure in their own skin their main mission is the elevation of others.

Yeah, not the fake confidence type who put others down and take credit for the good stuff. True leaders and truly confident people don't need to show off and want to rise up others as much as they can.

The Spellbinder

This was the name of one of the main characters in the book. A personal development speaker at an event who played a big part in creating and sharing the ideas laid out.

All of the great teachers of history owned very few things, you know.

There's no need to own too much, and a lot of it is for show. It can end up owning you anyway. That's not to say don't own anything and to not enjoy the finer things, just don't overdo it or be defined by it.

Rumi made the point much more brilliantly than I ever could when he observed, ‘Give up the drop, become the ocean.’”

Deep, man (in more ways than one ;)).

Mr. Riley

Another character along with 'The Spellbinder'. An eccentric billionaire imparting his wisdom and ways on the younger students. These 2 along with a budding artist and entrepreneur make up the motley crew as they go about their saga.

The 2x3x Mindset: to double your income and impact, triple your investment in two core areas—your personal mastery and your professional capability.

Some nuts and bolts of advice for mastery.

Having lots of money doesn’t make you different. It just makes you more of who you were before you made the cash

It exaggerates who you already are now that you have the opportunity to show it more fully.

The 20/20/20 Formula
move, reflect, grow

This is one of the cornerstones of the book and what we should focus on in that first hour when we get up (ie. 5-6am). Obviously this is not an exact science and depends on the individual and their routine, but a general outline to get things moving.

20 minutes of movement, 20 minutes of reflection and 20 minutes of some sort of learning. There are plenty of ways to go about this, but some sort of exercise, perhaps journalling or similar, and then an inspiring of business-focused podcast could work for each section.

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The more powerful a person truly is, the less they need to promote it. And the stronger a leader is, the less they need to announce it.”

Goes back to the confident leader quote earlier. And this applies to all people… confident people just are, and the ones who are full of doubt are shouting the loudest as they are the ones who need to prove it, not least to themselves.

There’s a ton of competition at ordinary, but there’s almost none at extraordinary.

Most people do average and are happy at that. Going a little further will set you apart from most.

quote by French philosopher Albert Camus that read: “The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”

Just a great quote.

Victims have big TVs. Leaders own large libraries

Similar to the entertainment and education quote from earlier. People who are going places tend to read a lot or have educational references, whereas the rest just slip into bigger screens and more streams.

Human beings are hardwired to act in alignment with our self-identity, always. You’ll never rise higher than your personal story

No matter what you do, you will always level out at who and what you think you are at a deep level. So we need to target that and things will flow a bit easier.

The world is a mirror. And we get from life not what we want, but that which we are

An often used analogy but there's no getting away from it.

Real leaders never negotiate their standards. They know there’s always room to improve

Keeping standards high and striving for more.

Alexander the Great once said: ‘I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion

Roar!

“Picasso announced, ‘My mother said to me, if you are a soldier, you will become a general. If you are a monk, you will become the pope. Instead, I was a painter. And became Picasso.’”

Ol' Picasso back in there. And he did quite well at being Picasso I think ;)

We need to be an excellent version of ourselves.

‘An addiction to distraction is the death of your creative production.’

We have so much distraction going on, it's really tough to get anything worthwhile done. And it is an addiction, and it does stifle our creativity and productivity. Technology can be amazing, but whilst it can make for a great servant, it makes a cruel master.

One of the fascinating traits of our ancient brain is its negativity bias. To keep us safe, it’s far less interested in what’s positive in our environment and significantly more invested in letting us know what’s bad.

Of course, we had to lean towards negativity as it was a life and death scenario. We had to assume the rustling in the bushes was a threat as if we didn't that could have been the end. We've carried that through though and whilst positive is all very nice, it's still the negative that can harm us, so we're constantly on alert… hence all the anxiety. It's necessary to balance that out and lean the other way…

Abraham Maslow once stated, ‘If you plan on being anything less than who you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life.’

This chap had a thing or 2 to say about the hierarchy of needs. First up you need to take care of the basics like food, water and shelter, then you move up the pyramid towards self-actualisation. Basic needs need to be met… but then our full potential needs to be reached.

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cognitive bandwidth

This is essentially how much we can cope with at a given time. Our brain only has so much capacity, and once that runs out we run dry.

attention residue

Things that spill over from a previous task. Our attention has moved on to something else but there's that 'residue' from before working away in the background and seeping over and affecting/infecting what it is you're now doing.

When multi-tasking or trying to do many different things there is a lot of this.

the hours that The 95% waste The Top 5% treasure

Make the most of your time, and don't fritter it away.

The Flow State

Read the BookBabble on Flow for more on this.

Mindset, Heartset, Healthset and Soulset.

These are what are referred to as The 4 Interior Empires. Mindset is well covered, and healthset isn't a regular word but keeping in tip-top health is a well worn concept. Those and the other 2 'sets' are expanded upon in the book and Sharma's other works.

your past is a place to be learned from, not a home to be lived in.”

Learn the lessons, move on. Next…

every day is just dramatically better with some exercise in it.

Always exercise. No matter what it is, try and get something in. Morning is best, but anytime is fine, and getting a couple of stints of exercise in is even better.

what you do each day matters far more than what you do once in a while.

Back to habit and you being what you repeatedly do.

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The Latin root of the word ‘passion’ means to ‘suffer.’

It's 'funny' they go hand-in-hand but I guess there's a reason.

Destruction, Installation and Integration—takes about twenty-two days

This is talking about the installation of a habit. Of course, it takes a lot longer (some say 66 days) to really cement it, but that starting point of dismantling something, introducing it and fully living it, is around the 3 week mark. Then that becomes something that you simply 'do' on autopilot and becomes who you are.

open-air museum of a city

This was talking about Rome, and I couldn't agree more!

a wishbone without a backbone doesn’t really get you very far

Vague wishes aren't going to get you anywhere, but clarity of thought and positive action will move the needle.

Procrastination is an act of self-hatred

That's one way of looking at it, but it certainly isn't an act of love, for anyone.

you need five complete ninety-minute sleep cycles. That’s what the scientific studies are now confirming. That’s seven and a half hours of sleep each night.

Now we're getting into the world of proper sleep. Not just the overall time, but the complete 90 minutes of each cycle and preferably five of those. So around 7.5 hours total and uninterrupted. Would be difficult for most to achieve this, but good to know and try and emulate as much as possible.

Because the things that get scheduled are the things that get done. And because vague plans yield vague performance. And because the smallest of applications really is better than the grandest of intentions.

Definite purpose, plan and action is what is required and anything vague will just slip by.

“Your heart is always wiser than your head

True, but you need most working in tandem.

French mathematician Blaise Pascal wrote: “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

Exactly. Most just can't do it and it causes all sorts of problems. And on the flip side, of you can do it, then no-one and nothing can touch you.

your past is a servant that has made you all you now are—not a companion to spend much time with in your present or a friend to carry into your spotless future.

Once again talking about leaving the past behind. Yes, you can learn from it, but don't dwell on it or carry it forward. What's going on right now, and what's next?

“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all—in which case, you fail by default,” said J.K. Rowling.

'Failure' summed up by the Harry Potter author.

Should someone do you wrong, let karma do the dirty work. And let a world-class life be your revenge.

The greatest revenge is massive success. Just leave them to it, they'll get their comeuppance, and even if they don't, so what.

Four practices have helped me make my financial fortune, and so I gift them to you: positive expectancy, active faith, ever-increasing gratitude and extreme value delivery.

We could delve into each one of these areas, but suffice to say if we live these sincerely then we will achieve great things… and perhaps enjoy ourselves a bit in the process.

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Every human being you meet has a lesson to teach, a story to tell and some dream in their heart that longs for your support.

We all have something to offer, so we should listen intently and share what we can.

A sane person in a world gone crazy has always been considered insane

I believe it was krishnamurti who said It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. Just because everyone else is doing it, doesn't mean you should. In fact, it probably means you shouldn't!

Another quote for you from Mark Twain - Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.

Quite.

Balance living like there is no tomorrow with behaving like you’ll live forever.

Plan as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die tomorrow. Not sure who said that (or whether you should live like that) but the points remain true… make the most of each day, realise life is finite, but vision a long, bright future.

Why wait for them when you have it in you to become one of them?

You have to be the change and all that. Don't wait around, but act in such a way that others will follow rather than depending on others to act. If something needs doing, go ahead and do it!

Thanks Robin! Anything Else?

That about sums it all up. Get up early, cover some basic rituals and set about your day and life. Use the science of mindset and achievement to get this all working in your favour and offer your gifts to the world.

There are also plenty of rituals, rules, routines, steps, plans and 'brain tatoos' (as Sharma likes to say), in fact maybe too many so you can end up getting confused. Keep it simple and employ some of these tactics but don't let all the ideas overwhelm you.

Overall a good book which covers similar ground to many others but told in a different way. Well worth a read which can lean on the 'cheesy' side at times but may just hold some nuggets that will make that difference.

Take a look and let us know what you think!

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Video review:

First image my own, others linked to source